A Look into the Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV

Recent news revealed that the latest installment of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy will also have its own CGI movie and anime. Sony Picture Entertainment alongside Square Enix will release KINGSGLAIVE: Final Fantasy XV, the CG movie that will tell the story about the complexities of the kingdoms and royal relationships in set with the Final Fantasy XV narrative. If you want to watch the trailer, check the video below:

The anime that is based from the game is titled as Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV. The narrative tells the extraordinary friendship of the protagonist, crown prince Noctis, and his three companions. The first episode of Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV is already available. You can watch it here. According to the press release by Square Enix, all episodes will be free. That means everyone gets to follow the storyline of this potential installment of the Final Fantasy franchise.

 

Now we explore into Noctis’ dream…

 

With the release of the Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV, I was able to play the whole thing on the Playstation 4. It shows what kind of gameplay the game will offer to its players. The demo starts with the young version of the crowned prince – Noctis – venturing through his dream with the help of his magical guide companion, a Carbuncle. It features some bits of the gameplay and what we should expect from its full release.

The Platinum Demo also gives the player the ability to control the time and weather in the game. The lighting glare of the sun, the city with lights, and the rain looks wonderful. It also features driving vehicles in the game, this means we can expect to have more driving gameplay when traveling through its world.

demo screenshot 1

The gameplay is similar to the upcoming reboot of Final Fantasy VII, it’s a pure action RPG just like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy Type-0; which is called the Active Cross Battle system, players get to feel that hack n’ slash gameplay as what Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII also featured. The controls are really easy to catch-up with and it’s simple. You can tap/hold Circle to attack and tap/hold Square to defend, while you can switch to approximately 4 weapons/items using the D-pad function.

The battle mechanic is very straightforward. There are just times when you get to battle monsters in a close and tight space then the camera over-zooms itself preventing you to see the enemy. And there are times when the frame drops in some areas in the game but since this is only a demo, hopefully there will be improvements at the game’s launch.

demo sreenshot

Overall, the Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV already gives us the glimpse of what we need to expect from Final Fantasy XV. With its soundtrack that keeps me also hyped, I’m looking forward on how the game will do with its story about Noctis and his companions, and gameplay experience when Final Fantasy XV is out on September 30.

You can now download the Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV on PlayStation Store or if you own an Xbox One, it’s available on Xbox Live.

Final Fantasy XV will be released on September 30, 2016 on the PS4 and Xbox One platforms.

All screenshots including the feature image in this article are taken from the playthrough of the author on the Playstation 4 system.